‘Wolves Of The Russian Spring’: Examination Of Night Wolves As Proxy For Russian Government – Analysis

Contrary to most portrayals by the mainstream media of the Night Wolves Motorcycle Club (MC) as Russia’s equivalent to the Hell’s Angels,1 the organization is not an outlaw motorcycle gang – which implies a rejection of mainstream culture, strict loyalty to the biker club rather than to the state and deep involvement in criminal enterprises.

Rather, the biker image of the Night Wolves is a carefully curated façade meant to provide a semblance of rebelliousness all while the group serves as a tool of the state.2 Moreover, the Night Wolves are just one part of a vast network of non-profit organizations, military associations, and private businesses working at the behest of the Russian government.3

The Night Wolves exemplify a larger trend by the Russian government to outsource activities to non-state actors that are traditionally…